Does anyone else see the subtle sometimes not so subtle sexual innuendos going on throughout the entire show? Also how did the mother portray the father in the painting she did? I could pick apart this fiasco bit by bit. I love it is the weird part.

Right after Ginger started filing her shoe in the living room and then started dancing, I was ready 2 give up, but then the show calmed down a bit and got better. In the end, I enjoyed it. It appeared 2 be "Dennis the Menace" re-tooled with a teenage girl...

Candy had small supporting roles in several 1960s shows and always added youthful charm. Though this pilot is quite flawed in it's production and characterization, it's still great to see an entire episode featuring Candy from start to finish. It's too bad we have to resort to a pilot to see her. Perhaps if this had been better we would have more programs or films featuring her and which to view.

Margaret Hamilton and Karl Swenson (as housekeeper and father) add substance to the supporting cast. Ginger's role should have been modulated by the director rather than letting her talk loudly and engage in "lovingly" punching her father. The fate of this pilot could have been different if the director had handled the main actress in a different manner.

Roberta Shore the female who played Joan was on the TV show named the The Virginian. This "Time Out For Ginger" Show was done in 18th of September in 1962

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0544805/

I thought Candy Moore was a delightful actress. (hey it's the early sixties ...) She was loud and over the top, but you can't blame her. These kinds of issues fall on the shoulders of the director. Her enthusiasm and facial expressions were just fabulous! She really was a consumate actress IMHO. What a cute little girl she was! I would think w/ a little "tweaking" of her character it could have been a hit. I even found the show refreshing. I guess looking back from 50+ years, it's really hard to know.
I'm giving it a good solid 4 stars for Miss Moore's (60s remember...) superb performance!

The premise (based on the older play) was fine enough, the performances solid enough, the writing (by the original playwright, which may tell you something) falls too short for comfort. The ensemble playing is worth watching (and old-time radio buffs may recognise the former star of the comic soap "Lorenzo Jones" as the befuddled father), but the inconsistent and sometimes mediocre script is probably what kept this show from becoming a series. On the other hand, the theme song is as charming as the performance of the show's bouncy protagonist.

Can anyone upload "Happy" with Ronnie Burns?:) And yes that may be the Cleaver household. I have this along withe Little Amy and a few others on Alpha Vista's lost TV Comedy.


I can today Nikki Blonksy doing a remake of this [she was in Hairspray, itself an American Bandstand variation on the same outcast girl tries to be successful at something plot.]

Yes, she did need a time out!

This would have taken place when I was a teenager, and her character was not defined. Was she a nerd, an athlete? Why was she yelling?

Weren't they living in one of the Cleaver's homes (Leave it to Beaver?) It had the same same staircase going up stairs and the front closet downstair beside the staircase. And the house number was 217?

just downloaded it out of curiosity..i haven't watched it yet, but the .gif images revealed who the 'guest star' might be: Margaret Hamilton, from which i tracked (from the IMDB)that this 'unknown year' was 1962 with Tuesday, September 18 being the original air date under something called 'The Comedy Spot'..this 411 is 4 anyone interested in these details...

Rated as it would have had to have been compared to other shows from it's era, it fits right in and is well made. I found it delightful! It's too bad it wasn't picked up because I think it had the potential to succeed: well-cast ensemble, crisp writing and direction, and a polished look that makes you feel as if you know these people already. Know them and like them. I wouldn't have changed a thing about it. Could you imagine some of the storylines that would have been possible after 3 or 4 seasons?

There's just something about failed pilots that is quite fascinating to me. The "what ifs" and "coulda beens." Remember, Star Trek's first pilot failed as well! Look what it went on to become - the most popular television series ever! They don't have Gunsmoke conventions, or sell Cheers dolls, or make tons of feature films based on M.A.S.H., do they?

It's too bad that this show didn't get picked up. Its actually pretty good. Although, the writing and direction, like others have mentioned, are pretty weak. I think if maybe it was given half of a season, people might have gotten into it and it could have eventually been a picked up and maybe even turned into a classic. Although, I'm sure there were a lot of pilots like this in the 50's and 60's.

This isn't a review, because I downloaded this at the time I wrote it.

I just want to say that I'm surprised that nobody mentioned what Candy Moore is best known for (among classic TV fans that is): As Lucy Carmichael's daughter on THE LUCY SHOW in the 1960s! That was just for the first 3 years though until she was written out of the show in 1964. Lucy's son Jerry and Viv Bagley's son Sherman were dropped a year later when Vivian Vance quit the show, and Lucy and Mr. Mooney moved to San Francisco. No explanation was ever given behind the disappearance of the kids, and when Viv guest starred in a few episodes to visit Lucy on the West Coast no mention was ever made of them.

Not sure what happened to Candy Moore though, but she never became famous in spite of being on a hit show.

Overall I liked the show but, Candy really needs to calm down. Stop shouting....even Dennis didnt shout that much with his signature "Hey Mr. Wilson"

Candy Moore is absolutely brilliant in the pilot. A safe and predictable plot maybe, yet done well. There's no question as to who's leading the parade when she's in the room. They even sedated her long enough for a brief tender (and quiet) moment with dad which was nice. The only change I would have made would be to replace mother (Maggie Hayes), unfortunately I found her a bit contrived and out of palce. Franky I'm surprised that a network didn't pick this up at the time. I would have commisioned a 36 episode run immediately after witnessing this rambunctious offering.

The writers were very quirky and with some refining the show could have been great. The dialogue is cleaver. The conversation ginger had with the rich kid who had no money to loan was excellent. Writing is much better than leave it to Beaver. In fact with a little more development it could have been better than Green Acres.

Yeah the kid is loud and over the top but i think that is funny too. I give it a hearty thumbs up.

I guess no one told Candy Moore that you can show enthusiasm and excitement without SCREAMING.

The child was in need of serious meds.

Here's what Jack Gaver's UPI TV Notes column dated March 14, 1960 says:

The title role in the new CBS-TV filmed comedy series called "Time Out for Ginger" went to Candy Moore, a 13-year-old blonde student at the Mace School for Professional Children. She continued her studies by correspondence when she went to Hollywood to film the pilot episode. The series stems from a Broadway comedy of the same name that was popular about five years ago.

A TV column dated June 14, 1960 talks about an Alcoa Presents show, and adds:
Candy Moore, the girl who plays the granddaughter, was tapped for a starring role in a new syndicated series, Time Out for Ginger, as a result of her work in this one.

That narrows down the date. I can't find a broadcast listing date.

Candy Moore grew up to be a regular on "The Donna Reed Show." She played the tole of Bebe, Jeff's girlfriend in the final few seasons.

It's a shame they didn't give her a TV show at that age, because she truly became a hottie. I used to watch "Donna Reed" on Nick at Nite in the 1980s, and most of the women looked laughable. Not the teenage Candy Moore! "Donna Reed" comes out on DVD soon, so you all can see for yourselves...

An attempt here to showcase cutie Candy Moore supported by veteran actors. Candy's character is an unnecessarily loud pony-tailed nine-year-old early teenager in pedal-pushers and saddle shoes. With exhuberance in excess, terms like "Kookie" and "Way Out", the only man in Ginger's (Candy's) life is still her "PoP" lacking only in the noticibly missing incesssant gum-chewing. The kid actually 'likes' her parents. Who'd a thunk it.... and with such enthusiasm that today's audience would interpret it as unnaturally affectionate.

More Sophisticated older sister Joan (Roberta Shore of Disney's Shaggy Dog co-starr Franchesca) as what could only be described and 4th billing due to the subdued portion of camera time and lines.

And who's this? Why it's Margret Hamilton of Wizard of Oz Fame sounding for all in the world like Imogene Coca... AS the maid - every upper middle class household had maids in the 60's didn'ja know? Absolutely amazing... Wonder if they are related?

Everyone on the set goes about their portrayals seemingly easily and comfortably EXCEPT Candy which to even the casual viewer is little pushing it. Loud? Neighbors would have needed no radar to know everything about that household.

Where did they go wrong?
1)14 or 15 year old character acts too much like a VERY loud 8 or 9 year old.
2)Laugh track even in what could have been quiet moments.

Plot : Kid trys to do something- Kid fails - then ultimately succeeds.

3)The success is over done and the quest is unrealistic for an early teen.

All in all a great cast but medicore scripoting and direction.

Noah
8-?

The presence of Roberta Shore pegs this as late-1950s or early 1960s. The only information available on the Internet Movie Database lists its name as "Life With Virginia" --- an episode of the "Comedy Spot" summer-replacement for the Red Skelton show. This episode was telecast very late in the summer of 1962, on Tuesday, 18-September-1962. The title character was played by Candy Moore, who, in 1971, became the first wife of Paul Gleason, who played the arrogant principal in "The Breakfast Club". Mr. Gleason died in 2006 from a type of cancer that has been related to asbestos.

Maybe I was a little harsh in my discription. It isn't the worst pilot ever. But it's still well below the standards of the time.

The play had Ginger trying out and making the football team. A radical concept in the late 40's. This show was a springboard to a Patti Duke
film called "Billie" who a tendency to run all
the track team into the ground because she had "the beat" a pulsating bounce she mentally "pysche" herself up to run. Cute program but ahead of its time.